Notes and Editorial Reviews

Fires of Love is a Scottish quartet of performers that focuses its efforts on the late Renaissance and early Baroque. Its musicians supply two vocalists—soprano and baritone—a recorder, lute, guitar, andRead more percussion. This, their third disc, presents the more intimate side of musical performance in late 16th- and early 17th-century Scotland and England. It was a period of great turmoil in the former, where a succession of policies towards politics, religion, and religious reform under numerous monarchs, regents, and local ecclesiastical and secular powers guaranteed something to offend everybody in the nation. Eventually, the triumph of a Calvinist-flavored Scottish Reformation meant all music save psalm-making retreated to private estates in secret; while at the same time, less austere Anglican social policies under Elizabeth I led to a compositional and publishing boom in music of all kinds.

What we have on this release, then, is a mix of popular songs and dances of the period, some extremely well known in England—such as a version of Sellinger’s Round, Rosseter’s When Laura smiles, and Pilkington’s haunting Rest, sweet nymphs—and a range of local, anonymous Scottish tunes, gathered in family manuscripts that still survive. In the latter case, a few of the intabulations would seem to cry out for variations through divisions they don’t receive here; especially Grein greus ye rasses, which lasts on this album under half a minute. More elaboration would have been welcome from Gordon Ferries, whose sensitive touch and flexible phrasing is an invariable joy. The English songs, on the other hand, are usually more elaborate, featuring multiple verses or interspersing orchestral treatments among vocal ones.

Stylistically, the four musicians are excellent. However, I find featured soprano Frances Cooper’s upper range very thin, and the tone slightly tremulous on some notes. Enunciation of the text is only moderate, though she varies dynamics well, especially in her lower range, which is warm and clear. The engineering unfortunately utilizes the Early Music Sound, which assumes everything, including lively theatrical songs and intimate lute pieces, was meant to be performed in a moderately cavernous church. (It was in fact recorded in St. Margaret’s Chapel, Edinburgh.) I hope musicians of this quality can be urged to come into a cozier, somewhat drier aural environment in the future, more suited to the warmed wine and crackling fire that presumably accompanied this kind of music-making into the cool, clear night. Recommended.